in federal court right now in brooklyn at this hour. abc 7 news. >> we will continue to follow this breaking story and we will bring you more details right here. >> closer to home now, a big development for two prince george's county police officers accused of beating the university of maryland student. today, a major charge was dropped. we have obtained new video after te win -- the win. >> a big day in court. first off the assault charge against the officers was dropped. and we heard testimony from one of the accused who described himself in court as an officer- friendly. on that night when they were on the street after the maryland basketball team beat duke, he

used reasonable force against the student saying he was protecting himself. it will come down to what the jury will think about the videotape. this video of the alleged police assault on this maryland student has been the centerpiece of the prosecution. for the first time, but abc 7 news can show you another video.s he comes down the street from this cell phone camera. they call the video is significant. it seems to show that he is happy, singing non-threatening. is given no orders than "back up" before being hit. >> i lost several days of sleep over it. it was really bothering me. >> video evidence is at theday trial.

they admit that they are on camera striking him but they claim that it was reasonable. based on that video the judge today gave them a victory saying she saw no blows to the head in the wide shot version and she threw out the first degree assault charges against baker and harrison. >> any town that gets thrown out is good for us. -- any count thrown out are good. >> the cow's that remain are second-degree assault. >> the virginia manen are telling their story of survival tonight. they got reunited with their families last night. stephen spoke with them.

how are they? >> each men lost about 15 pounds and they are in good shape considering they spent close to one week in high altitudes and surrounded by snow 18 inches deep. six days of bitter cold, snow- covered ground and pounding rain. they sat in the sun at home safe at last. >> it feels warmer and drier. >> they recounted the moment when they heard a voice. >> the man was out hiking and looking for s&p called out. >> they had hiked in national parks before. it was intended to be a brief strike through the woods. they realize they had wandered far off the past than they had hunter down. >> we were not able to communicate with anyone back home that cared about us. >> the weather did not let up.

they were down to one quarter of a power bar per day. >> we had to keep staying in the same place. >> now that the ordeal was over, they want to say thank you to all that comforting their families and scoured the mountains looking for them. >> everyone has shown us so much support. >> they are 32-year-old veterinarians and they are doing just fine. this may curtail their hiking plans for a while. >> i do not think our wives will let us go for a while. >> they braved the cold inside the tents. at the top of the list of thank you's, the 50 people who joined in the search for them. >> thank you stephen.

the weather today. another great all day. >> we have some storms coming our way. >> we will have some showers with the cold front tomorrow when the possibility of an isolated storms or two. outside the belfort furniture weather center, 64 degrees and mostly cool skies looking across to the water. 68 in manassas. 64 in annapolis. clear and comfortable for this time of year. 6:26 is sunset. overnight, 45-53 degrees. we will have some sunshine and by the afternoon these are the showers and storms from the cold front that will be paying us a visit. what comes after the weekend? that's coming out.

>> 20 days now until the election and last night, the nominees held nothing back in that town hall debates. the differing intensity, could it turn off the voters? natasha has the all-important women opinion. >> the ominous tension may have kept people glued to the tv, but some say they want to hear about what they care about and that, they say is the most frustrating part. >> last night's debate made one thing clear. both candidates are focusing on female voters. it makes up the majority of voters. some of the most talked-about moments were all of the women's issues. >> they do not seem able to begin as the information that we need. >> we spoke to different women in d.c., maryland, and the swing state of virginia. >> how do you do it? what steps to you going to take

to make sure it happens? i do not think either of them did it last night. >> the internet blew up with opinions, posts, and pictures about romney's binders full of women. >> they bought -- brought us binders full of women. >> others is a both candidates have yet to say what their plan is. >> it's a big issue. >> all eyes were on the friction, the interruptions the body language. some say it took away from the real issues like jobs and the economy. >> they need to get out there and say, here is my plan. >> hitting the road again today pushing for women voters. governor romney is down in

chesapeake va., and president obama in iowa. the final debate is scheduled this monday in florida. >> it will be in boca raton fla., and it will focus on foreign policy. you can watch that debate right here on abc 7. >> let's turn to the trayvon martin shooting. a trial date has been set in the case against george zimmerman. the attorneys were in court today asking for hearings on the evidence saying they are tracking the evidence in the shooting death and zimmerman remains in hiding and did not attend the court hearing today. five people in colorado murdered after this bar was set on fire. the bodies were found just before the bar closed. they did not say how the victims were killed and they are still

processing evidence. >> a local cocker spaniel needs serious s attacked. this happened and jennifer donelan spoke to the owners. >> a lot of people are really shaken by this. the dog's owner was out of towns of the pet was with the dog walker. the owner is now flying back as we speak. she threw up her bandaged hands and said she was there. this cocker spaniel mix was rushed to the hospital condition after the beloved pet was attacked by two pit bulls in northwest. >> i heard screams and a dog. >> his eight teen-rolled girl was injured in the attack. -- this 18-year-old girl was

injured. >> the dog walker could not break the dog free. >> it looked like he had a toy in his mouth. >> they were watching like it was a movie. >> and then some neighbors sprang to action. >> he is 74 years old. >> you know, they could change the direction and maybe a towercam. >> he was locked in the pit bull's jaws. it>> a driver pulled up and tried pepper spray in the dog. >> i tried to get away. "she says she's ok, but then the attack ended. >> i hope the dog is alive. i really do. >> we received an update from

friendship animal hospital. he was taken into surgery around 2:00 with severe abdominal injuries. it is have identified the owner and have been cited with having an unleashed dog and one was taken into custody by animal control. abc 7 news. >> the shocking allegations against a d.c. police officer now on the gunfire. >> two big more -- two more big life changes for lance armstrong. >> a fire breaks out at this home and

>> customers often complain, but they are thinking two employees deny for potentially saving her son's life. >> there rushed into my home and put out a fire before the firefighters even arrived. we are live with the horse -- the whole rick story. >> the fire started by food left unattended on the stove. the workers behind me made sure

the fire did not get out of hand. it put out the fire and probably saved the life of a 3-year-old little boy. >> he is sleeping peacefully in his mother's arms thanks in large part to some quick thinking pepco workers. just as crews were arriving to work on the lines, 19-year-old ryan heard a smoke alarm going off. >> we decided to go in the back to make sure anyone was in. we saw smoke. >> she was walking down the end of the driveway to take two young children to their school bus. the 3-year-old boy was asleep just inside the house. callahan grabbed a fire extinguisher and and they went in intense fire and thick smoke filling the kitchen and it was

quickly spreading. >> another pep co-worker called and they brought them back in the house. >> there was no smoke in my bedroom. >> they escape to going up the exit. >> mom is definitely the hero here. we just put out the fire. >> they usually stop for coffee at the beginning of the day before they go to the work site. for some reason, they did not do that today. they came straight year. that's probably a good thing because they were just in time to help save his life. horace holmes, abc 7 news. >> what a great story. and great weather. >> year after year, october have

the best stretches of weather in the area. tomorrow evening, and maybe a little shaky. let's get to the maps and start out with the weatherbug headquarters. the second camera is looking at the building and we will put this in motion because this typifies what most of us are seeing overhead, the high clouds coming and going but a pretty fair dave. look in the foreground, here are what some of the trees look like changing color here and we are approaching peak color. right now, went out of the south at four miles per hour and 67 degrees in chevy chase. in light of the warmer temperatures, the wind is getting a little dusty which is a prelude to the arrival of the cold front tomorrow afternoon or

evening. 68 in frederick right now. 64 degrees currently in annapolis. throughout the region we have seen high clouds but it really has not diminished the beauty of the low humidity and nice comfortable temperatures. if we go far enough to the west out resections of missouri, we see the influence of this cold front moving eastward. showers and thunderstorms now developing and it is all pushing east through the day tomorrow so partially sunny, breezy, and warm for most of the day. this is how the futurecast times and out. partially sunny and breezy and tomorrow evening around 7, this model suggests they will be approaching from the west. they will just be ending around sunrise pushing to the east. when will still be out of the southwest.

it will still be very mild iran friday. 70-73 degrees -- it will be very mild here on friday. we will turn cooler but not colder. there is a slight risk tomorrow evening with the front somewhere between upstate new york and south carolina, there is a chance of isolated severe weather. overnight, partially cloudy and cool. for the day tomorrow, partially sunny, breezy, mile. 67-71 degrees and looking towards the weekend, the friday afternoon looking nice and big cooler with sunshine this weekend and there we go again back into the 70's early next week. we're getting near peak color here in the next 10 days. >> almost there.

another all-star couple was sent home last night on "dancing with the stars." >> bristol and mark balas. >> next week the remaining eight couples will have to perform an individual guilty pleasure dance. i wonder that is. then they will be combining for special teen dances as well. tonight, "nashville." juliet asks deacon to write a song with her. >> we've got to finish writing that song. "she has 500 miles worth of nerve. >> i underwriting a song. >> we have to write songs together too, remember? >> digger around for abc 7 news

at 11. >> coming up, the meningitis outbreak that has won virginia man taking serious action. >> he thought he had lost his best friend forever after he went missing on a camping trip. hear how long the dog survived alone in the woods and how they were finally reunited. >> getting worse and worse for lance armstrong. the shake-up

scott pelley: "you made on your investments, personally, about $20 million st year, and you paid 14% in federal taxes,ta that's the capital gains rate. is that fair to the guy who makes $50,000 and paid a higher rate than you did? so you think it is fair?" romney: "yeah, i think it's the right way to encourage economic growth." lower tax rates for him...than us. is that the way to grow america?

i'm barack obama, and i approve this message. >> more bad news for lance armstrong as the fallout's more -- as more fallouts come from the dumping allegations. >> armstrong is stepping down from the charity he helped create. >> today may have marked the final fall from grace for lance armstrong. he announced this morning he is stepping down as chairman from his cancer fighting charity livestrong. nike said they are severing their deal and they previously said they were standing by it because the appears to maintain his innocence. >> do the seemingly insurmountable evidence that he for dissipated in doping, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract.

at the world headquarters, he will be removed from the fitness center. they faced enormous pressure and yesterday, they took to the streets. >> they got the results they wanted in the sport and they made other people take those drugs within the team. >> the agency banned him for life and disqualified him of all competitive titles which could strip him of his seven tour de france titles and olympic bronze. >> most of his teammates have come forward saying he doped. >> to deny that he doped would be like the nine gravity. >> the organization has its 15th anniversary celebration this weekend and he said this was made so they can focus on the mission instead of his problems.

abc news, washington. >> the life guards fired after gangnam style video on youtube have been ordered rehired. >> the city council approved rehiring the staff. they were let go because they say was a misuse of city property. two of them said they are not sure they will take their jobs back. >> that have to bring them back in. >> everyone was calling for that. >> that's funny. still ahead, find out what's going on in prince george's county. >> the newly discovered benefit multi vitamins have on some men. >> a d.c. police officer goes on trial for soliciting sex and shooting up a car as governor, i

cut five billion dollars in spending and balanced the budget every year. and tim kaine and i both cut our own pay as governors to lead by example. mark warner and i reached across party lines to get things done. we were a great team in richmond and

we'll be a great team in washington. i'm tim kaine and i approve this message ...because we'll work together to reste fiscal responsibility grow our economy and create jobs. [ male announcer ] tim kaine. bringing people together to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

maryland schools are number onein america because we invest in them. but we can do even more. every year marylanders spend five hundred and fifty million dollars at casinos in other states. question 7 keeps that maryland money in maryland through expansion of gaming in maryland. it will mean hundreds of millions of dollars for our schools. as governor, i can promise you that money will go to education. that's the law and that's what we'll do. vote for question seven.

>> you're watching abc 7 news. on your side. >> and as are a court case started in court today. -- a bizarre court case today. >> a transgender woman and gunfire? sam ford explains. >> testimony began today in the trial of a d.c. police officer charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and solicitation of prostitution. a transgender woman said he offered her a to $500 for sex. alexander, a transgender woman named chloe was walking on august and kran into office kenneth furr who offered money

for sex despite her refusal. in court today, they said it led the series of bizarre incidents in which the gays punched him in the face, crashed their current is cadillac, and they heard shots and arrived seeing him jumping up and down on the hood of the chrysler with five people yelling according to witnesses, "all you [bleep] are going to die." >> i had jumped on it. i was on the bandwagon. it's terrible. >> as testimony has come out, it was not a hate crime or a trans- specific offense. >> however, he argues that the shooting was justified because with the chase and crash, he was in fear for his life. >> his alcohol level was twice the legal limit according to prosecutors and he has been

jailed since the incident and was on administrative leave without pay from the d.c. police department. he is among a number of d.c. police officers coming for not as witnesses but as defendants. reporting live, sam ford, abc 7 news. >> federal officials have boiled a terrorist plot to blow up the federal reserve building in new york, just blocks away from the world trade center. they have identified the suspect as quazi nafis who came in january from bangladesh. he was arrested this morning in an fbi sting operation. >> a judge has dismissed one of the three charges against police officers accused of beating the university of maryland student. if the judge threw out the first degree assault charge by agreeing that there was no evidence the student was hit in the head. >> millions of viewers tuned in

last night to watch the second of three presidential debates. the debate at hofstra university had a much more aggressive tone down the first debate between obama and republican nominee mitt romney. many pollsters say obama 1. the entire ec political team will break down that debate including the facts and the fins. i spoke to diane sawyer about what else is coming up. great to see you as always. the debate. what a night. so different from the last one and i know you will be breaking everything down for us this weekend. >> great to talk to you, alison. more than 50 million people watched last night. president obama and governor romney, we will break down the most important moment and the biggest flop. who may be the real winner? >> also a health care issue of sorts. you were talking about the

annual checkup we'll spend our time and money doing. >> are they worth it? is there something you can do to make sure they really matter to your health? we will tell you a lot more about the news on that today. >> we will look forward to that and much more. thank you, diane. >> you can watch that tonight on "world news." >> a virginia man said he received the tumble meningitis injection is suing the compound in pharmacy. two people in virginia have died and one person in maryland. the west nile buyers can lead to meningitis. 2012 is the second worst year on record for the mosquito-borne disease. the worst year on record was 2003 when there were just under

10,000 cases. maryland virginia, and the district reported a number of cases and at least one death. >> we are seeing the lazier in the 395 south down towards duke street. 66 also a slow roll out toward 123 and in centerville toward manassas. in the inner and outer loop across the american legion bridge delays after the 270 server. from leesburg pike care and up towards the 270 spur, the delay is so heavy on the outer loop that you can see the west side of the screen here is 270 on to the outer loop. a slow roll on the innerloop of the belt way towards college park and towards marlborough road. 270 northbound seeing delays through germantown and that is the latest.

back to you. >> thanks. >> a new proposal tonight on what to do and one local county has animal lovers of plotting. >> it hurt a lot, but i had to keep going. >> this 9-year-old boy is fighting cancer. meet this weeks's hero. >> house soon will you be able [

minto ] you know, those ads saying mitt romney would ban all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme. so i looked into it. turns out, romney doesn't oppose contraception at all. in fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother's life. this issue's important to me but i'm more concerned about the debt our children will be left with. i voted for president obama last time but we just can't

afford four more years. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. >> every year, more than the 18,000 children are diagnosed with cancer in the u.s. when a child is diagnosed, it affects the whole family. we have that a local 9-year-old boy doing everything he can and that is what makes him this week's harris' hero. >> there is pain in my knees pain in my back. it was hard to get around. >> when he has to stay in the

hospital, his family and friends helped him get through it. >> we just like to watch movies. >> the support inspired him to start a foundation. >> so you can afford gas and food. we have to help out. >> the foundation is called just tryan it. this year, 350 partisans' raised $125,000 participating -- participants raised $125,000 in a triathlon. >> it takes the load of someone else so they can be with their child. there's nothing more important than that.

>> it has allowed her to be with her 7-year-old daughter, canyon, in the hospital. >> to go from working, not working, taking care a three kids at the same time. to have someone out there that cares? >> he is trying to make treatment easier for others and his work is far from finished. >> we can all learn from this nine year-old's perspective. he says he'll looking forward to completing his treatment in february. >> what a special little boy. 7 is on your side tonight with encouraging news when it comes to multi vitamins and lowering the risk of cancer in some men. they followed 15,000 men ages 50 and over taking immelt of vitamin who had an 8% reduction

in cancer. the study did not apply to women or men younger than 50. up next, this dog went missing after 15 years with his owner. see the emotional reunion next. >> those saggy pants have been a nuisance for many years and

>> in prince george's county program is on a mission to get teenagers to pull up their pants. >> the solution? collecting belts. >> what time of day, and a matter where you are, you're likely to run into some kid wearing his pants too low. some have even tried to pass laws against them. there's now a group with an innovative new plan. on most days, his pencil down well below his waist. >> they are low.

it sometimes it happens. i'm just not paying attention. >> they ditched their belts and where their parents lower than most would like to see. >> we do not want to see that. it's underwear. >> community activists have come up with a plan to counter the fad. they are holding a belt drive collecting used a belt that the 15 drop boxes all across the county. >> one day, we hope these young men will be our future leaders. they do not want their packs sagging. >> they hope they will actually wear them, at the very least when they go on job interviews. >> people do not think about that and it's so important. >> than not sure how many will

be collected but based on the public outcry, the move has strong support. >> why? what's the purpose? you're getting away from your past, your family is, morals and principles. >> we should point of the campaign started in september and runs through november 1st. the drop box locations include some churches and schools all throughout the county. itkendis -- kendis gibson, abc 7 news. >> digging is usually discouraged unless it is national fossil day. they dug in some specially brought in during to look for fossils. the museum of natural history and park service teamed up talking about how fossils' teach us about history. it's time now to get into the spirit of the holidays if you

want to see the national christmas tree lighting in person. the lottery signups starts october 25th-29th. it is december 6th this year and we have all the intermission on our web site, wjla.com. >> he was missing four months but denied a texas man has been reunited with his dog. the two were on a camping trip when it started to rain. romeo slipepd out. after surging four days with no luck, he built a small memorial and went back. two months later he called to say that he had found romeo and identified him through his microchip. >> it's indescribable. after you think you lost something in two months later? it's like a new direction. it is surreal. >> the 15-year-old golden

retriever has lost a lot of weight, but with a little rest and relaxation, he will be just fine. i think he was looking for juliet. [laughter] >> let's see what's coming up on abc 7 news at 6. >> gordon peterson has the look ahead. >> the candidates are out looking for votes. they're back on the trail talking about last night's debate. they're both on the road and finishing some of the hits from last night. reaction from the debate as well as matt ronny's latest trip to virginia. we have an update on the bomb plot stop on the federal reserve in new york. we will see you at 6 in a few minutes. >> tomorrow, katie couric will sit down with one of the most influential people in hollywood. >> tyler perry talks about his role in alix cross and why this

is so different. he shares what he learned from oprah. >> the leaves are turning. the weather is nice and cool outside. it's really fall. >> it's a great day out there doug. >> here is one of the hd weatherbug cameras out in march -- out in arlington. the latest color map shows wingood color developing for the fall foliage. 67 in washington, 64 in hagerstown. partially cloudy in the 50's. 64 at midday. partially sunny and breezy.

clouds will be increasing, wind increasing out of the south and noticed the timing tremendous with showers between 6:00-8:00. all of this should be out of the picture by sunrise friday then back to sunshine breezy, mild temperatures with friday afternoon sunshine. sunny and mild early next week. check out lots of stuff always updated on wjla.com, the on-line home of abc 7 mother and a blog about the days getting shorter another sign of a winter on the way. >> it's far enough away. >> thank you, doug. >> a big week coming up for the redskins. >> they were back on the field today to rehearse for the new york giants. they are talented. second in offense, third in

scoring. these scans have kryptonite, -- skins have kryptonite rg3. >> he won the heisman and sunday, he will play in new york -- actually, new jersey, for the very first time. >> it will be fun to do something different out there and play against a division foe. the new york giants are superbowl champions. i look forward to it. >> it will be his first foray against an nfc east foe. >> this gamut this early in the season being on top of the division, it's going to be a crazy atmosphere. >> his electrifying touchdown is still the top of the town. >> i was somewhere in the gas station and he did not even know i played. i decided, i was there.

and he just said, that run. that's special. >> this is definitely going to be -- i'm not that much of a trash talker, that's all you can say about it. everyone will be ready to go. >> who does not know santana? the road is leading to detroit. cabrera came up huge last night taking this to deep center field. trouble from the get go. he had good speed but he did not lead it on display. cabrera in with a double. detroit wednesday- -- lead it 2- 1. this afternoon, it is cards 2 giants 1, in the 5th. >> someone please give santana moss a pat on the back as governor,

i cut five billion dollars in spending and balanced the budget every year. and tim kaine and i both cut our own pay as governors to lead by example. mark warner and i reached across party lines to get things done. we were a great team in richmond and we'll be a great team in washington. i'm tim kaine and i approve this message ...because we'll work together to restore fiscal responsibility grow our economy and create jobs. [ male announcer ] tim kaine. bringing people together to tackle the challenges

of tomorrow. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] combine the pnc cashbuilder visa credit card with a qualifying pnc performance select checking account and earn 75% % more than cards earning 1% cash back on almost everything.

>> the decision you make in college choosing your major could cost millions of dollars of real lifetime. >> we have new statistics on which degrees earn the most than the least. >> do you want to make $3.50 million? degree in engineering. that is how much they can are not over a 40-year time. compare that to a typical college graduates who take on $2.40 million. which earns the least? education coming in at $1.80 million. this agrees the second most popular for students despite the pay. the census says. this -- says business majors are most likely to be employed. a computer, mouth, and science had even better employment

rates. on the flip side, fewer of half of the visual and performance arts majors can land a full-time job. the same for literature and language majors. there is a common element. women tend to earn less in every field of degrees. choosing a major may seem like a small decision at the time, but students should not take it lightly. >> that is it for abc 7 news at 5. abc 7 news at 6 starts now. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> abc 7 news. >> good evening. breaking news. no information on the plot to blow up the -- new information on the plot to blow up the federal reserve building in new york. >> we now have a picture. 21-year old quazi nafis from bangladesh.

he was involved in a sting operation involving the fbi and the nypd. he had a car filled with thousands of pounds of explosives outside the building this morning and tried to detonate it with a cell phone. the explosives were phony and the people helping him or actually undercover officers. he arrived in the united states in january and had several locations in mind. the public was never in danger. more coming up on "world news." >> the other big story tonight a candidate for president hit the road tonight to talk about what happened last night at hofstra. millions tuned in to see the second presidential debate. there were plenty of clashes between president obama and